


You Must Be Peter, It's Nice To Finally Meet You

by doesnelcatlaugh



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon-Typical Violence, Don't Examine This Too Closely, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Parent Tony Stark, Please Don't Hate Me, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24084613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doesnelcatlaugh/pseuds/doesnelcatlaugh
Summary: The daughter of billionaire Tony Stark has become close with her dad and the Avengers over the years. She's smart and strong, despite not being enhanced and not going into science or math. But she never expected to care so much about a certain Spider-Boy that she's only met once. Suddenly, she's in Europe helping him defeat a mysterious villain. Will she realize that all the thoughts about Peter she's been trying to suppress have been reciprocated this whole time?Or, some nerds try to fight a guy in Europe but end up falling in love along the way.Please forgive me for not trying to make this accurate, I haven't seen every single Marvel movie lots of times I just love Peter Parker and his friends. I hope it doesn't get confusing because it's based on Far From Home except Tony didn't die and his death is a huge part of the film, but I'll do my best. This is also my first time writing second person so please bear with me there.Thank you for reading!On hiatus? I'm so sorry guys I want to finish this but quarantine was awful and remote schooling is not better enough for me lol.
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Reader, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Reader, Peter Parker/Reader, Peter Parker/You, Tony Stark & Reader
Kudos: 27





	1. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this is the beginning, the first chapter is largely background on the reader. I hope she isn't too specific, I considered just giving her name and not doing second person but I figured I'd give it a shot. Enjoy! There will be more Peter x Reader interaction after the first couple chapters.
> 
> Word count: 1229
> 
> Warnings: a little swearing

You shifted on your bed as you slowly woke up, wanting to get as much sleep as you could. But, of course, once your brain was awake, there was no going back to the pure peace you had been in for at least a few hours until you could nap.

As your eyes opened, they were met with a soft glow coming through your curtains almost making you smile until you wondered what time it was.

Turning to look at your phone, you started scrambling to get ready.

_7:43am. Shit._

You put on a simple outfit, but nothing too casual as you weren't actually sure what you were getting dressed _for_. Your dad was expecting you in ten minutes and you brushed your teeth quickly, sad at the thought of skipping yet another breakfast.

As much as you love food and like to remind people you care about to not do things like skipping the most important meal of the day, you were busy. You graduated high school a year and a half early at the age of 16, just a couple months ago, and had already started online courses, while also working with your dad's company, and occasionally needing to do some daughter-of-a-celebrity-related things.

Much to poor ol' Tony's dismay, you weren't majoring in any hard science or math. In fact, you'd never particularly enjoyed either subject. Instead, you opted for a double major in Political Science and Moral Philosophy, with a double minor in Cultural Studies and Psychology. Of course psychology studied the brain, so Tony took what he could get. He was proud of you nonetheless and knew you would carry on the Stark name in your own successful ways. Plus, someone in your area of study could be helpful to have around with the Avengers.

Heading downstairs with your hair brushed, you saw your dad and beamed at him.

"Hey kiddo," he glanced at his watch, "7:59. Glad to see you ready on time," he smirked, knowing you aren't a morning person.

"I have gotten pretty good at getting ready quickly. I consider it one of my finest talents." You did a little bow and he chuckled.

"Well then let's go already!"

"You still haven't told me, where _are_ we going?" The two of you were now heading towards Happy in the car. All your dad had told you was a quick, _'Hey, tomorrow morning 8:00 I need your help with something,'_ and then he left your room.

"You know that Spider-boy? Spider-ling? You know."

"Yeah, of course I know… Hi Happy!" You entered the car and smiled at the man in the front who gave a little nod and wave back at you.

"I need you to do something for him." 

"For him? Or for you?"

He glared at you, "For him. Look, he needs some help. Training, suit updates, understanding all that his job entails. I want him to stay at the compound upstate this summer. He'll spend more time with the others, train with them, and can spend time in the lab."

_Aw, Dad really does care about him._ You chuckled inwardly at how oblivious Tony was to how the boy had grown on him.

"Makes sense. Why do you need me?"

"Well, I brought it up to him and he didn't seem too keen. I thought maybe someone his age could help him understand."

"Ah, okay. So what have you already told him that dissueded him?"

There's that glare again. "I just told him he needs more training if he wants to truly be an Avenger and that this summer was the perfect time."

"Well, Dad, isn't this the summer before his senior year of high school?"

"Yeah, why? You spent the summer before your senior year, er, senior semester, at the compound upstate."

"Yeah but I've been privately tutored since I was 13. Almost everyone I care about was there with me."

Tony opened his mouth to say something and then looked out the window, "Ah! We're here."

You turned your head to see you were outside the nerdiest high school in Queens: Midtown.

_Of course he brought you to the kid's school. In the morning._

"Dad, what the hell do you want me to do, interrupt his first class of the day for no reason?" Your brows furrowed in confusion.

"No, no, I'll do that part."

You rolled your eyes but agreed, knowing this was happening no matter what you said.

You followed him out of the car but he told you to wait at the front of the building. After a couple minutes of that you were already bored and your mind started to wander, thinking about how excited you were to be starting college. For this semester you were online but you were hoping to be able to start the fall semester on campus. It was honestly a thrilling thought, to be surrounded by people around your age.

For a few years, your mom had raised you as a normal, middle-class kid, upstate. You asked frequently about who your father was and she finally relented thinking you were old enough, and at least mature for your age, when you were seven. He didn't know about you so it was a surprise, but after a bit he got used to the idea of having a daughter and was happy. You and your mom didn't want to move to the city, but he visited as much as he could, and you spent the summers with him. When you were eleven, he paid to have you sent to the best local private middle school. It was sometime around the start of middle school that the press discovered that you existed, so for those couple years you attended school under a fake last name. By high school, you and your dad had become very close and you convinced your mom to let you live with him. By this point, more photos of you had gotten out and you decided to just accept it, but it meant that as much as Tony wanted you living with him and Pepper, he didn't want you going to a big school. Thus began private tutoring. It was actually well-suited to you because although you were a people person, you were a fast learner and it was easier to graduate early. Unfortunately, private classes meant you rarely met people your age, and pretty much never hung out in large groups of your peers. College would be the first time since you were in the midst of puberty that you would be in a situation like that. Now that you're thinking about it more, it is kind of scary. I mean, how does one even interact with teenagers?

"Uh, a-are you (Y/N)?" You started a little and turned to see a wide-eyed boy about your age with a mop of chestnut hair smiling at you. You couldn't help but smile back immediately.

_Who knew Spider-Man was so cute?_ Nope. Pushing that thought way back.

"That's me. You must be Peter, nice to finally meet you." He nodded as you quickly looked him over-- Natasha had trained you how to find threats and weaknesses in any person a few years ago.

"Uh, so why did Mr. Stark make me leave English class? Not that I'm complaining too much, I'm more of a chemistry person," he said with an adorable crooked little smile. You chuckled and thought for a moment, realizing you didn't actually plan out what to say to convince him.

"Let's take a walk."


	2. Europe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the reader and Peter discuss why he doesn't really want to stay at the compound over the summer. Then, later, Tony calls the reader asking for a favor.
> 
> Word count: 1038
> 
> Warnings: maybe a little swearing

"So my dad mentioned something to you about maybe coming up to train this summer, right?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." He looked at the sidewalk in front of his feet as you two walked near the school.

"Why aren't you interested?"

"I-I am  _ interested. _ But… ever since  _ this _ ," he gestures around himself, "happened, I haven't been able to spend a lot of time doing anything other than school and, well, the 'Stark Internship'. I want to keep doing it over the summer, but without classes I'll actually have time to hang out with my friends and help out Aunt May and just... be normal, ya know?" He sighed and looked at the ground again. "Sorry I just- I want all the time I can get."

You smile softly. "That makes sense, there's no need to apologize. I figured it was probably like that, my dad doesn't really understand. It was different with me because I was privately tutored throughout high school."

"You've already graduated?"

"Just a couple months ago actually, a year and a half early. I'm doing online college courses now and hopefully will be on campus next semester."

"Wow, I guess you are Mr. Stark's daughter." For some reason, the way he said ' _ wow'  _ made you blush and you hated it. Who gave this kid you just met the right to make you blush? He didn't seem to notice though so you tried to shift the focus back to him.

"Listen, I know it can be hard to be away from your friends and family but I think you would really enjoy spending time at the compound. The Avengers are like  _ my _ family, they're great," you paused at this, giving him an opportunity to say something but when you looked over at him his brown was slightly furrowed and lips pursed, so you continued, " And the training facilities and lab up there are state of the art. You'd actually be able to visit everyone quite frequently, it's only about two and a half hours away. Well, in a car, not the jet." You clarified.

"I don't know. It sounds great, but I still feel like it would be too much time. Like- poor Ned! He finds out I'm Spider-Man and just has to accept the fact that I can't hang out with him? It's nice that he isn't angry at me because he knows  _ why _ I can't hang out, but it sucks. I mean, I'm in high school! I'm supposed to help my friend build a Star Wars Lego set, not fight criminals!" You tried to suppress the laughter bubbling in your stomach but a little fell through your lips. If you had looked over then, you would have seen him staring at you with a little smile on his face. He normally would be blushing right now but instead of focusing on the fact that a pretty girl was laughing at him, he was focusing on how cute said pretty girl's laugh is.

"I'm sorry," still slightly chuckling, "but I get what you mean. People our age shouldn't have to be constantly risking their lives like you are. But, you did choose this life."

"Well, when you have the ability to stop bad things from happening, and then you don't, those bad things happen because of you."  _ That was wise. _

You stopped walking and turned towards him. "You're not going to agree to this, are you?"

"Uh, I don't think so, sorry."

A gentle smile graced your face, "Peter, stop apologizing. We'll just tell dad you need more time to think about it. The summer is still a few months away, after all."

He smiled back and nodded silently.

"Let's head back," and start walking towards his school.

~

After that, you and Peter exchanged numbers, just in case he changed his mind or had other important business. At least, that's what you told yourself, but even you couldn't think of why it was necessary when he could instead contact Happy and your father.

For the next couple months, neither of you contacted the other, but sometimes you would think about him and his cute awkwardness and cute hair and cute eyes… and then you made yourself stop thinking about your dad's little protigée and tried to focus on work.

Unfortunately, focusing on work wasn't really enjoyable because it seemed like everyday more work was assigned than the day before and it was getting to be a lot.

You mentioned this at dinner one day, telling your dad, "God I cannot wait for spring break. Maybe I should do some traveling then. What do you say, Dad? Europe would be nice, it's been awhile since you've taken me overseas."

He was busy at the time so he just mumbled a "yeah, maybe" and you left it at that. Until, of course, your break was already underway.. So far, you'd spent the days sleeping in, eating, training, eating, and then relaxing with some Netflix until you felt tired enough to go to sleep.

On the third day of this glamorous routine, you had just finished training and were on your way to the food when you got a call from your dad.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hi sweetie, could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah sure, what is it?"

"I'm gonna be really busy for the next few days and I need you to go to Europe."

"What? What do you need in Europe?"

"There's some dangerous stuff going on and I need you to keep an eye on something for me. I normally wouldn't like you going somewhere so dangerous, but SHIELD is already over there and I want you to stay with them the whole time."

"Dad, if SHIELD is there why do you need me?"

"Well I'm afraid they're more focused on getting rid of the bad people than saving the good ones. I just need you to keep an eye on the kid. Besides, you're about as trained as a regular SHIELD agent."

"Peter's over there?"  _ Oh. _

"Yeah, on a school trip. He still has a lot on his suit he hasn't tried… I was really hoping nothing big would happen so he could train with it all this summer…"

"Okay Dad, when do I leave?"


	3. Find Them, Then Him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the reader arrives in Europe and gets briefed by SHIELD. She meets Beck and catches up with Peter.
> 
> Word count: 1355
> 
> Warnings: swearing

You weren't sure why, but you really wanted Peter to be safe. You suppose that even though you only met once, in that conversation you got to know a decent bit about him. He cared. He cared about his friends and his aunt, and he cared about people he could save. You knew that he probably hadn't even wanted to bring his suit with him, but as soon as he saw what was happening, he would be on it.

After your call with your dad, you started packing and doing research into what was happening. FRIDAY helped you pull up as much as you could on this water monster thing and on this "Mysterio" guy… it wasn't much. A few shaky videos from the attack and interviews with witnesses afterwards. But no one had seen this guy before, or anything like the monster, so you figured you'd wait to get briefed by whoever was over there from SHIELD. Based on how little was known about the situation, it could be really serious.

Getting on the jet, you tried to calm down. Deep breaths.  _ Peter can handle himself. SHIELD knows what they're doing. This mystery hero guy might have things under control. You'll be there. Soon you'll know what's going on. _

You tried to get some sleep but ended up awake with your eyes closed blasting your music in your ears for a few hours. When you got to Venice, you dropped your bags off at the hotel Tony booked for you. Stepping onto the little balcony you took a breath. It had been a couple years since you'd been to Italy but you had always loved it. As your eyes scanned the horizon, calming you, they fell on a beautiful stone building sporting a long, fresh crack. Oh, right. That.

Filled with the sudden urge to see Peter, make sure he's okay, you grabbed a couple things; concealable weapons Dad had designed for you, a protein bar, water bottle, wallet, phone, and your coat. Then you left.

_ Find them, then him.  _ You had to constantly remind yourself on the way towards the address Tony had given you for the SHIELD agents. 

_ Find them, then him. _

_ Find them, then him. _

After passing the security, you entered the Venice SHIELD operations confidently. You weren't a genius, but you were about as trained as most of the people in this room despite being half their age.

"Excuse me, can you take me to whoever is in charge here?" You politely asked a nearby agent who looked up, wires widening with recognition as he saw it was Tony Stark's daughter asking. He nodded and brought you deeper into the room and you recognized Maria Hill.

"Agent Hill! Glad to know whatever the fuck is going on will be taken care of," you smiled. Although you didn't see each other often, Maria has always been good to you and you'd seen her in action. 

"(Y/N)! Tony told us you'd be here soon." As she spoke you noticed a man next to her turn towards you and your eyebrows raised.

"Fury? Damn, this _ is  _ serious." He made eye contact with you for a moment and nodded but stayed silent.

"So, can someone brief me?"

Agent Hill explained what was going on. Quinten Beck is a hero from an alternate Earth --fucking awesome, by the way-- and there were other monsters besides water that are expected to attack. She also mentioned that Peter had been reluctant to help, wanting a normal vacation with good friends. And how he repeatedly hung up on Fury, much to your amusement.

"Where's this Beck guy now? I'd like to meet him for myself."

"I think he's out with Parker." You looked over at her and then your watch. It was late, not many places would be open right now. You really needed to see Peter. He was almost definitely okay, but for your own sake. Anxiety runs in the family. It wasn't too hard to search for them with the technology you had and your training.

After finding up his location you said goodbye to Hill and Fury, telling them they would see you in the morning. With that you started strolling, well, more like speed-walking, to the bright little dot on your phone screen. Entering the bar, you saw him and you heard yourself sigh, feeling some of the tension in your shoulders leave. Then return, as you saw he was right next to some stranger: Beck.

You approached them, "Peter! Thank God you're okay." He turned and you saw the surprise on his face as he recognized you. "Quinten Beck, I assume?" Turning your attention to the man on Peter's other side, before sliding into the still next to Peter.

"(Y-Y/N)? W-what are you doing here? Ho- wh-"  _ He's cute when he's confused. Okay, he's always cute. I should put him out of his misery. _

"I'm just as trained as a lot of those SHIELD agents. I'm helping out," you shrugged casually, thinking it best not to tell him that your dad wanted to keep an eye on him. "And I can't believe you hung up on Nick Fury," you chuckled, "Awesome."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" You looked back to Beck and examined his face. Something about it didn't sit right. For some reason, it almost looked like he recognized you. There was a strange glint in his eyes. As if he knew who you were and he was excited about it, but not in the way middle school girls are when they recognize you at the mall ' _ oh my god, it's Tony Stark's daughter! She's like, a billionaire! Did you see that dress she wore to his last gala?!"  _ Instead, he looked excited about a deer he just saw run by.... Like he wanted to hunt it down for sport.

"Why does it matter so much to a man from another universe?"  _ Let's see where this goes before I give too much away that I'll regret later. _

"She's Mr. Stark's daughter, (Y/N)."  _ Thanks, Pete. _

"Ah, I see." You cocked a brow but decided it was getting late for this kind of bullshit.

"Peter, how's Ned?"

"Oh, he's good. Actually I guess he just got a girlfriend?" Peter started to fill you in on what he's experienced on the trip so far. He also told you about how he and Ned have gotten closer to a girl from the decathlon team. Talking to him felt easy, even though you'd only had one full conversation previously. He asked how you'd been and you talked a bit about how school was a lot but it was currently your spring break, and you were glad to simply be out for a change though you hoped everything ended soon and safely. He laughed at your jokes and you were so immersed in all that was Peter that you almost forgot about Beck, who was sitting there listening to every word you said. 

"Okay, it's getting late. I think we could all use some sleep." You and Peter said goodbye to Beck but you wanted to walk Peter back to his hotel. 

Once you were alone you asked, "What do you think of this Quinten Beck guy? You trust him?"

"Yeah, I think so. I don't see a reason not to. I mean, he like, saved us all from that water thing."

You hummed in response, thinking. "I don't trust him yet. Something's off. But I don't know what."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out if there is something." You smiled a little at his tone. He sounded like he believed you could figure anything out if you tried.

"It's really late, you should probably sneak in the window." You looked up at his hotel.

"Oh, yeah." He almost sounded disappointed that you'd already gotten there.

You squeezed his shoulder with a reassuring smile, "Get some sleep, Parker. You deserve it. I'll see you tomorrow."

He smiled at you and quietly got out a, "yeah, you too" before you turned and left towards your own hotel, a small smile still on your face.

_ Goodnight, Peter. _


	4. As Seen By Peter Parker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chaper follows Peter as he talks to Ned about you and then sees you and MJ interact.
> 
> Word count: 1128
> 
> Warnings: swearing, as per usual.

"It wasn't a date, Ned." Peter sighed before he started to brush his teeth. Once they were both awake, he had told Ned all about the night before and how you had shown up unannounced. And, of course, how he was happy to see you.

"It was basically a date! You clearly like her, and it sounds like she likes you. I mean, didn't she come all the way over here to protect you?"

"No, dude, she doesn't like me like that. And I never said _I_ like _her_! We barely know each other. And she came to help defeat the monsters, not protect me."

"She came to defeat the monsters that are attacking _you_ … I don't know man. Didn't you say she called you awesome? Seems like she likes you." Ned grinned at him but Peter just rolled his eyes.

"There's no way she feels that way. She's way out of my league."

"Yeah it is pretty fucking cool that you know (Y/N) Stark. She's like, an actual celebrity. I can't believe she knows my name." Ned sighed dreamily.

"Whatever dude. Let's just stop talking about it, okay?" Peter wanted to focus on relaxing with his friends. Be a regular tourist for once. He had tried not to get involved in the fighting. It seemed like Beck and SHIELD had it under control. And he deserved a break, right? But Fury called Mr. Stark and Mr. Stark called Peter and reminded him of his own words-  _ 'When you have the ability to stop bad things from happening, and then you don't, those bad things happen because of you.'  _ Peter had said that to you and Tony saying it made him wonder how much you talked about him. But he tried to push those thoughts aside and focused on what Tony meant by telling him that. Peter knew he couldn't avoid it any longer, he needed to help. Besides, he was really excited when he found out the multiverse theory is real.

"'Sup losers?" MJ entered the room.

"Yo! We were just talking about Peter's crush on (Y/N) Stark." Ned grinned again as he greeted her.

"Ned! Shut up!" But of course MJ wanted to know more, enjoying Peter's misery. As they all walked out of the hotel together, Ned retold everything Peter had told him so she was caught up.

Today was the last day before going to Paris, or actually now Prague, thanks to Fury. So, after _finally_ moving on from that conversation, the three teens were browsing a little shop, joking around, enjoying themselves, appreciating the gorgeous architecture.

Then Ned suddenly elbowed Peter and pointed, "Yo is that her?" And of course, there you were, sitting with your laptop open and a coffee next to you at a table nearby. Your brows were furrowed as you concentrated on something, but Peter couldn't help but notice how the sun looked on your soft skin and hair. He was pulled out of his staring when Ned grabbed his arm and started walking towards you.

You noticed two people coming towards you and your face lit up when you saw who it was. "Oh hi Peter! And Ned, right?" You beamed at them as Ned nodded, star-struck, then whispered not-so-quietly to Peter,  _ "(Y/N) Stark knows who I am!" _

You chuckled at him then turned your attention to the girl who was walking up behind them,  "MJ?"

"(Y/N), hey!" The girl smiled at you and Peter was very confused.

"Wow it's so great to see you again! What did you end up choosing for your thesis?" Peter watched as you stood up and excitedly started catching up with MJ who was, strangely, also excited. He caught a bit of what you two were saying,  _ "...chosen a major?" "What did you think of  _ Mandy _?" "... insane, I loved it! What did you think of the Edward Albee I recommended?" "...really good! Oh my God did you see the Broadway revival last season of…" "...so good! That set design rivaled National Theatre's Treasure Island!"  _ Ned and Peter stared as the two of you laughed with each other.

"Dude this is so weird." Peter spoke in a low voice.

"Yeah, totally. I mean your old crush and your current crush are talking to each other!"

"Ugh, Ned! Shut up! I meant like, my two worlds colliding… and laughing together."

"Sure dude. Alright well, I'm gonna go find Betty."

"Yeah okay, man, see ya." Once Ned was walking away it seemed like you and MJ were calming down and remembered he was there. "So, uh, how do you guys know each other?"

"Oh we met at an off-broadway production of  _ Othello _ about a year and a half ago," MJ explained.

You continued, "Yeah we've hung out a bit since then but I've been so busy recently it's been awhile."

Peter nodded, clearly still a little surprised at the fact that you two know each other, but also a little amused. He stated with a crooked smile, "You guys are nerds."

You rolled your eyes but the effect you were going for didn't really work because you were smiling too. "Hey at least I don't go to the nerdiest high school in New York City."

"Yeah, you're right. Instead you're a sixteen year old college student with a double major and double minor."

"Okay, okay. Point taken. We're all nerds here."

Before Peter could respond, your phone started to ring. You sighed and picked it up.

"Hello?" He didn't want to eavesdrop but with Peter's heightened senses it was hard not to.

"Ms. Stark, have you been on Twitter recently?" It sounded like a middle-aged woman.

"Uh, no, why?"

"Photos of you with Mr. Lang are going viral."

"Oh, um, what's the problem with that?" 

"Well, people have started questioning why you've been hanging out with a criminal." Peter saw you roll your eyes.

"Thank you for telling me." And with that, you hung up. "Sorry folks," immediately your demeanor switched back and you were smiling at Peter and MJ.  _ God, that smile.  _ "You guys wanna get something to eat?"

You joined Peter and MJ for lunch and he marveled at how different you are from your dad. You talk to people so easily, and always with a smile on your face. He watched your eyes light up at what you're passionate about and marveled at how you managed to seem genuinely interested in everything anyone had to say. It truly amazed him. But of course, the incredible person that you are, after lunch you had to head back to SHIELD.

Before you left you smiled sweetly at Peter and he felt his heart rate pick up. "I'll see you tomorrow in Prague, yeah?"

He somehow managed to get out, "Yeah, yeah of course." And watched you walk away with a smile plastered on his face.

"Peter," MJ started with a shit-eating grin, "you're totally crushing."


	5. Molten Man, Take Me By The Hand, Lead Me To The Land

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Night Monkey and Mysterio ft. (Y/N) Stark vs. Molten Man. Sorry this update took longer than expected! I think the next one will be soon :)
> 
> Word count: 1104
> 
> Warnings: swearing, some violence but not graphically described

The next day you spent with SHIELD and Quinten, discussing what to do about the last Elemental that they expected in Prague. You spent some time freshening up your offensive skills training with some of the agents. But, as fun as that was, you couldn't help but wish you were at home relaxing with some Parks and Recreation in your room.

That evening you were in the car with Fury and Hill during the Festival of Lights. It was truly beautiful, but you had to focus on the task at hand. Soon enough, a fight was underway.

You jump out of the car and take in the scene as you tap your watch and bracelet, and they unfold into Iron Man gauntlets covering each hand up to your elbows. Your heart races as you see Peter and Beck trying their best to fight the fiery Elemental but seeing their efforts made you realize you wouldn't be able to help defeat it. It absorbed everything. Instead, trying not to worry about Peter, you saw all the damage that was being done and ran around to keep shit together and to make sure that there weren't any other citizens besides those on the ferris wheel. Large chunks of buildings were coming loose, debris that the monster wasn't absorbing falling everywhere. You used your lasers to meld what you could but it wouldn't meld the stone. For that, you did what you could with the extra strength provided by the gauntlets, but because you didn't have a full suit, you weren't able to fly.

Suddenly you felt something hit you hard from the side, and knock you onto the ground. There was a strong pain in your ribs and you groaned, straining your neck without getting up to see what looked like a chunk of a building on top of you.

_ Okay, okay. Deep breath. Ah! Ow ow ow. Mistake! _

You shut your eyes for a second to prepare yourself then moved your arms to the piece of stone and heaved it off of yourself. Slowly you stood up, despite your body's protests.

Adrenaline started to kick in again as you were brought back to what was happening. You looked up to see the ferris wheel, and Peter desperately holding on to it.

"Beck!"

Following Peter's line of sight, you watched as Beck performed a seemingly suicidal attack. It worked though, and the blazing beast was defeated. As soon as Peter secured his friends on the ferris wheel, he ran over to Beck on the ground.

You made your Iron gauntlets a regular watch and bracelet again as you jogged over to join them, limping slightly. You were glad to see Beck move slightly as you approached. Since he was alive you stopped worrying about him and instead turned your attention to the boy standing over him.

"Peter! Peter, are you okay?" He turned to you with those big brown eyes while Fury walked over to Beck.

"Oh my God, (Y/N) are  _ you  _ okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," you hooked your thumbs over the bottom of his mask and took it off for him so you could examine him for injuries, lightly touching his face.

"There's blood on your shirt."

"Huh? Oh I think it's just a broken rib or two." You hadn't even seen the blood, it must've bled more once you stood up. Now, though, it was prevalent against the light fabric.

"Wh-  _ just  _ a broken rib?!"

"Peter it's not that bad." Satisfied with his face not being broken, you reluctantly removed your hands from his skin, immediately missing his warmth.

He rolled his eyes, "(Y/N), you need to get it checked out."

"I know, I will," you replied with a sigh. You looked up at his eyes and smiled slightly. He returned the smile, just as shakily.

_ Man, I could look into those eyes forever. _

"Alright Pete, you able to stop staring into your girlfriend's eyes long enough to get a celebratory drink with me?" Quinten Beck's voice startled you and Peter and the two of you awkwardly stepped away from each other, both feeling heat rise in your cheeks at what he referred to you as.

"You guys go do that, I guess I should go get this sitch dealt with," you smiled at Peter and gestured to your torso.

"Sure you're okay? I can stay with you if you want, rea-"

"Peter," you cut him off, "there's really no need. But thank you."

After Beck and Peter left, you got your ribs checked out and treated. After they finished wrapping your torso, you saw you had a few missed calls from your dad.

"Yeah, it was nothing, Dad."

"Nothing, honey?  _ Nothing?" _

"I'm fine!"

"Young lady you could have died! I told you to stay out of danger, to stay with the SHIELD agents the whole time. I swear, you only listen to me when you want to."

"Yeah, yeah, lack of respect, whatever. I get it from my father."

"Very funny. At least they think this was the last of 'em. Look, just don't go back to where the fight happened, okay?"

_ Oops. _

"U-uh yeah, of course, Dad. No problem." You feel a twinge of guilt as you stood there, in the ruins of the events earlier. Your eyes fell on something that looked out of place amongst the old stone and rusty structures.

"Oh my God you're there right now, aren't you?"

"What? No! Um, I gotta go Dad. Love you!"

"I swear, (Y/N) (M/N) Stark, if y-"  _ End call. _

You tenderly picked up the object and examined it carefully. It was broken, but you didn't see other things like it around.

"(Y/N)? I wanted to check on you, Agent Hill said you came back here" You turned slightly to see Peter coming towards you. "Was that Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, he's glad we're both okay."

"What's that?" He was now next to you, and he leaned closer to examine the piece of machinery in your hands. You felt the heat radiating off of him and had to restrain your hands from reaching up to cup his face. To avoid that, you turned back to the hunk of metal and got back into business mode.

"I don't know, I found it here and thought it looked out of place. Way too shiny."

Suddenly, it seemed to turn on and you dropped it in surprise. It lit up and projected an elemental made of a storm. It looked very realistic, but it disappeared after a second. You swallowed and looked up at Peter. He met your gaze with unsure eyes of his own.

"It looks like someone is projecting the elementals. But who would do a thing like that?"

Right on cue, the projector turned on again showing the storm elemental moving and then fighting Mysterio.

"Oh shit _. _ "

"Yeah, oh  _ shit _ ."


	6. Fun Road Trip!!1!!!1 ahaha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the reader and Peter go to Berlin to tell Fury that Beck was deceiving them all.
> 
> Word count: 1621 
> 
> Warnings: swearing

"Okay, we need to tell Fury and I'm going to need my suit." Peter said as he quickly closed the curtains to his hotel room.

"I can call him, but do you think he tapped our phones? At this point we know so little we have to be careful." At this point Peter was grabbing his suit.

"You're right, we'll have to go tell him in person," he replied, then without warning took off his shirt.

_ Oh. Oh my.  _ You felt a deep blush rise and turned around awkwardly.  _ Who knew Spider-Man had such glorious muscles? I mean, wow. Like… wow. Okay, this is getting creepy. _

"Uh Peter what a good costume for, you know, the costume… party," you turned your head to see Ned at the door standing next to a wide-eyed MJ.

"I fucking knew it! What kind of internship has such weird times? And the trip to DC!" MJ was clearly proud of herself but you looked to Peter, now fully clothed, to see how he wanted to handle it. He met your eyes and sighed before looking back at MJ.

"I don't have time to try to convince her now, she wouldn't believe anything anyways. Yeah, I'm Spider-Man. But don't tell anyone. Anyone who knows is in danger."

You brought your focus back to Beck, or Mysterio, since Beck probably isn't his real name. "We need to go back to SHIELD in Berlin, they already left here."

Peter nodded and turned slightly to the window but seemed to be thinking. "Peter?"

"Just um, you should probably stay here," he seemed scared to tell you that.  _ He should be. _ You crossed your arms and glared at him. "It's just- Mr. Stark called me while you were getting fixed up and he seemed really concerned. He- I don't think he would really be very, uh, happy if you willingly sought out danger," he cleared his throat as your glare intensified and grip on your arms tightened, "ya know?"

"I'm coming. If you don't want a ride to Berlin in my rental car, fine by me." You grabbed my keys and started walking out of the room past Ned and MJ who had moved from the door. "Look, if he gets pissed I'll tell him you tried to stop me, but I  _ am  _ coming, Peter."

"W-Well, (Y/N) it's not just that he'd be mad. I mean, you have a broken rib!"

"See you there!" You walk out of the room with the sweetest smile you can muster.

"No, (Y/N)- ugh!" I hear footsteps coming behind me. "Ned, cover for me!" He throws over his shoulder before he catches up to you.

"You want a ride in my BMW, huh?" You smirked, walking down the hallway.

"No, I'd rather be with you if you're going to follow this into danger." Before you could reply, he continued, "I know! I know you can handle yourself. But… it would just make me feel better."

You understood what he meant and nodded with a little smile to know you weren't still upset.

The drive to Berlin was a few hours long and you were a little nervous to spend so much time alone with Peter. Even though you felt very comfortable with him, you two had never been in a situation like it.

"You're a really good driver," he started after a few minutes.

"Thank you, I've actually been freaking out internally for the last couple days because I'd only ever driven in the US, so that's genuinely good to hear."

"My first time driving outside of a parking lot with May was as Spider-Man in the streets of New York. It was rough." You laughed, imagining hard that would be.

"Wow, that-" your phone started ringing, "oh hold on." You picked it up and took a deep breath before answering, "(Y/N) Stark speaking."

"Ms. Stark, a few magazines have asked for your comment on the photos of you with Mr. Lang. Would you like me to tell them something? Or we can set up an interview with someone?" You sigh.  _ They're still on about this? _ It was the kind of thing you'd learned to get used to, but even as you've become more accustomed to the public's attention, the stupid tabloids trying to make a juicy story out of nothing was a constant pain in the ass.

"That's not necessary. Do you have something to write with?"

"Yes, miss."

"Tell them I consider Scott a good man and a good friend. No one should be concerned. There are real problems in the world."

"Okay, Ms. Stark. And some have also asked for comment on what Lucas Galarneau said."

"Wait what did Luc say?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I assumed you'd heard."

"I've been busy."

"A reporter asked if you and him were in a relationship because of the photos from your father's last gala-" you cut her off.

"The photos in which we are literally standing two feet apart talking to each other?"

"Uh, yes Ms. Stark. He told the reporter 'it's complicated' and now social media has kind of run with it." Your hand gripped the steering wheel tightly as anger rose in you.

"Can I call you back in a few minutes?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." You hung up and carefully scrolled to find Lucas in your contacts while keeping an eye on the road.

"Everything okay? Isn't that Lucas guy a French actor?"

"I'm just pissed. And yeah, unfortunately. Actors are so fucking annoying." You found his contact and pressed  _ call  _ with a sigh. "Sorry about this Peter."

"No worries." He smiled gently at you and you felt butterflies in your stomach before Luc answered.

"Salut?"  Hi?

"Lucas! As-tu dit à ces journalistes que nous sommes  _ en couple _ ?!"  Lucas! Did you tell those reporters we are in a relationship?!

"Euhh… non, j'ai seulement dit que c'est compliqué. Pas la même chose!"  Euhh… no, I only said 'it's complicated'. Not the same thing!

"Oui c'est, et tu le sais! Pourquoi dirais-tu ça, mec?"  Yes it is, and you know it! Why would you say that, man?

"Tu en as entendu parler, non?"  You heard about it, no?

"Tu connard! Je ferme ces rumeurs."  You asshole! I'm shutting these rumors down.

"Qu'est-ce que tu veux dire 'rumeurs'? Je dis seulement la vérité."  What do you mean 'rumors'? I'm only saying the truth. You heard the smirk in his voice and it only made you more angry.

"Pute! Ferme ta bouche et ferme tes jambes. Au revoir."  Whore! Shut your mouth and shut your legs. Goodbye. You hung up and took a deep breath.

"Uhh you okay? I didn't know you knew French." Peter's soft voice brought you back and you relaxed a little.

"Yeah, I know a little bit of a lot of languages but I'm only fluent in English, French, and Spanish. I'm pretty good at speaking and understanding verbal Mandarin and Japanese but I can't read or write it."

"Woah. That's like, so many." You chuckled but remembered to call back your publicist.

When she answered you just said, "Tell them that we are not in any sort of relationship, we were only having friendly conversation," and hung up.

"What did that guy even say? You seemed really pissed. I mean, if you don't mind me asking! You don't have to tell me."

"No, it's okay. He basically told the world that we're in a relationship just to get his name trending and then when I told him I was shutting down the rumors he said 'what do you mean rumors? I'm only saying the truth'." You mocked his voice and rolled your eyes.

"Ew. What did you say to him?"

"I told him to shut his mouth and shut his legs." Peter laughed at this and despite your recent anger, you felt those butterflies return.

"Man, it must be so hard to be the daughter of someone as famous as Mr. Stark. I can't imagine. Like, you just got a call because of two unrelated, stupid press issues!"

"Yeah, it can be a lot. I'd say it's worth it with all the privileges, but it's like, high highs and lows lows, I guess. Dad and I both have anxiety which just makes things worse. But I love him and I've been given so many opportunities, it's hard to complain too much." He didn't respond and you glanced over at him to see him staring at you. "What?"

"It's just- it's amazing how you stay so positive all the time."

"Ah, I just suppress all the bad stuff and then a couple times a month I treat myself and have a little late night breakdown."

The rest of the crime-induced road trip consisted of some more serious conversations but also a lot of laughter. When you arrived in Berlin, the two of you went to SHIELD headquarters at once. 

"What the hell did you two kids come all the way over here for?"

"Nice to see you too, Fury." He gave you a wonderful bitch face and you glanced at Peter before continuing. "It's Quinten Beck, sir. He's been faking everything."

"What?"

Peter grabbed the broken piece of machinery out of his bag and put it on the table. "It's a projector. Highly advanced, but a projector."

"You mean to tell me, all of this destruction was projected?"

"We think he has drones too."

Suddenly, you felt someone push you from the side and you fell on the floor, in a state of pure confusion and surprise. "Peter?" You looked up as you started to get to your feet, but you didn't see him there. The walls were disappearing before your eyes and you realized what was happening.


	7. Dilusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader has the lovely experience of Mysterio's illusions. Sorry this chapter took me so long, I didn't expect it to be so difficult to write.
> 
> Word count: 1867
> 
> Warnings: swearing, blood, violence, gun, a little good ol' angst

Realizing that Mysterio was there, or at least his projectors and drones were there, you immediately enabled your gauntlets. Looking around, you were now alone in a large room, as you completed your 360-degree turn you were startled to see a drone only a couple feet away from you. Swiftly, you lifted an arm and fired a laser at it, but instead of the destruction you expected, the drone just disappeared. Then, the empty room filled with a deep blackness. You could see yourself just fine, but nothing else around you. It was like you were standing in a void.

Your breath shortened and you felt a pain in your chest, in addition to that of your broken rib, as you processed the fact that you didn't know where you were. You didn't know your surroundings or if anyone was watching you. You didn't know if anything you saw was real.

"Amazing technology, isn't it?" Mysterio's voice rang in your right ear and you turned your head towards it but as you did so, he appeared on your left side. "Over here!" He sounded like he was having fun.

"Where am I? Where's Peter?" He was gone halfway through your panicked questions and your words echoed in darkness.

"(Y/N)? (Y/N) I'm right here!" Peter's voice graced your ears and you turned, tears now in your eyes. You saw him, bloody and bruised, several feet away.  _ He looks so real.  _ You started to run towards him but slowed as you noticed he was in his Spider-Man suit.  _ Why would he be wearing that now? _ As you recognize that the boy before your eyes isn't real, he multiplies and you're surrounded by an overwhelming chorus of his voice asking you for help, asking you to come closer.

You start running and then you run into your dad. "Sweetie I'm so sorry, it's okay, I'm here now. I'm here." He tries to pull you into a hug, and your heart aches because you know it's not real. You force your arms to push him away and you stumble backwards. Your stomach drops and you feel like you're falling for miles before you finally hit the ground on your side, painfully.

Pushing off of the hard surface with a groan, you find it hard to breathe again and you look at your hands to see you're trembling. Then you realize you're looking at your hands… not your gauntlets. You notice that your bracelet and watch are gone, along with your jacket that had your phone, keys, and wallet in the pockets. You turn to look around once more, trying to calm yourself from your panic attack by finding three things in your view. But, of course, everything starts changing. What you only briefly saw as blank cement walls shift into a coffee shop that you frequent in New York. You're sitting there across from MJ who seems to already be in conversation.

"- _ Real Thing _ ? That Tom Stoppard play you suggested? It was really interesting, I hope I get a chance to see I live some time." You barely register her words as your anxiety rises.

"MJ I can't tell what's real, you're not real, you're not here. I feel like I'm going insane."

She cocks her head at you with emotionless eyes. "What's your worst fear?"

"What? I-I don't know. I haven't really thought about my worst fear."

"Well, maybe we can give you some things to think about."

Before you can fully take in her words, your surroundings are consumed in darkness. You hear what sounds like the rattling of chains behind you and you turn. You see your dad, Pepper, Peter, and Happy, all shackled against a blank stone wall and unable to run. They look tired, beat up and dirty. You try to move toward them but something is holding you back and you're forced to be still and watch as a faceless man appears with a gun. Without warning, he shoots Pepper in the heart. You know it's fake, but you struggle against your invisible restraints as you watch the life leave her eyes. Then, the faceless man shoots Happy in the head. They don't seem to hear you as you cry out. The weapon shifts to a knife and the man moves to Peter. You blink tears away and raise your eyes to study Peter's face. He looks so old, but you can't not think about how young he is. The man thrusts the knife deep into Peter's torso and he cries out. Again, you push against the invisible force holding you back. After a second, your friend's deep brown eyes meet yours. Suddenly, you stumble, able to move. Relieved, you try to take a step towards him, but your foot lands in air.

You're falling again but before you hit the ground you start and find yourself sitting in an unfamiliar space. You see it's a small room, with blank walls. The chair you're in is a metal folding chair, and across from you is a solid, opaque door. In the one corner you see a camera pointed directly at you, but you don't see any others. Your hands are now tied behind your back tightly by what feels like a zip tie. You're alone-- probably-- and you start to regain your metaphorical footing. Deep breaths lift the heaviness on your chest and stabilize your trembling figure, but everything around you remains coated in fear and a crippling sense of unease.

You stand up, silently thanking your captor for not trying down your legs, and stand backwards against the door to shimmy the handle. It is of course locked. It looks as though the way to unlock it from the inside had been broken, but you wondered if there was a way to pick the lock. Scott had taught you last year and you had practiced a decent amount with various types of locks. Unfortunately you don't see anything slim enough to fit in. You sigh and slump back into the chair, which gives you an idea. You manage to turn a screw out from the back of the chair, and work it against your restraints, slowly breaking down the material until it finally snaps and lands on the floor, freeing your wrists. Because of the camera, you keep your hands behind you and wait. Silence engulfs you for a while until you hear two deep voices getting louder as they approach the room. You aren't able to make out what they're actually saying until the door creaks open.  _ This is my chance. _

"Hey, bitch." It was two men you didn't recognize. The one who spoke was fairly tall, middle-aged. He looked like he was in good shape but not incredibly strong. The other stood next to him and looked angrier, but a little shorter and had a bit of a gut.

"Are you… Are you guys real?" You didn't know how else to put it.

The shorter one smirked, "Yeah, baby. The realest."

You shuddered at the way he called you "baby" but then you felt a hand grab your arm. Almost involuntarily at this point, you come to your feet as you twist the taller man's arm around his back. The other man clearly hadn't expected your hands to be unrestrained but he came to his senses pretty soon and moved towards you. You swiftly brought your knee up between the taller man's legs and he hissed in pain. Swinging around, you elbowed the other man hard in the chest and he stumbled slightly but his fist had power behind it when it met your face. Luckily, you still had a screw in your hand and you stabbed it into the soft flesh of his stomach with as much force as you could, distracting him. By now the taller man had mostly recovered but you were close to the door and he wasn't, so you just  _ ran. _

You didn't take in many details besides the fact that you were in a hallway. You didn't know the way out but you ran as fast as you could until you got to the end.

To your left was a door and it was unlocked, thank goodness, but revealed another hallway. You began running down this one just as fast but before you could make it far someone tackled you from behind.

"You having trouble knowing what's real, huh? Well I'll help you out…" his voice was in your ear as you heard him cock a gun, " _ this is real _ ."

" _ Hey! _ " The other man shouted from farther behind, running to catch up as he distracted the one holding you. "The boss wants to keep her alive, at least for now. You can't shoot her!"

You take this opportunity to twist around and punch the man holding you up from under his chin. You push him off of you as he lets go in surprise and start running again.

BANG.  _ Yeah, that sounded like a gun. Keep running, it didn't hit you. _

You see doors at the end of the hallway.

BANG.  _ Keep running, it didn't hit you. _

Doors to outside.

BANG.  _ OW! FUCK! _

You stumble as a sharp pain hits your left shoulder. But you don't fall and manage to push through the doors.

It seems to be sometime late at night. You keep running down the street for a few minutes, but you're still being chased so you look around for some way to throw them off your trail. You look through a gap between buildings and notice a railroad behind it. You turn abruptly and run towards it. You then run alongside the tracks for a minute before seeing a train coming. As it approaches you prepare yourself, then leap onto a train car you could grab onto.

You quickly realise this was a bad idea as it reminds you of the gunshot wound in your right shoulder. Using most of the muscles in your body except for those in your bad arm, you stay close to the train and very slowly inch toward the space between cars. Carefully you manage to kick the sliding door open enough for you to skip in. Well, more like  _ fall  _ in.

You find yourself in a miraculously empty space. You are so incredibly tired, but you feel something warm trickling down your arm.

_ Oh, yeah. Blood. Nearly forgot about that. _

It's dark but the side of the car that you had opened to get in was the side with the moon and your eyes had adjusted pretty well. You realize you don't have many options, so you take off your shirt and examine the wound.

There isn't an exit wound so the bullet must be deep in your flesh. There's a lot of blood surrounding it that you do your best to wipe away in order to get a good look. Unfortunately, the blood keeps coming and you come to understand that you simply don't have the tools to remove the bullet or seal the wound. You don't have anything. So, you rip off the bottom of your previously white tee shirt and wrap it as tightly as you can in an attempt to stop the bleeding. 

You collapse onto your back to finally get some sleep, exhausted in every way after the day you've had.


	8. Nederland?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader arrives in the Netherlands and gets help with her bullet wound from a kind local.
> 
> Word count: 1417
> 
> Warnings: blood, gunshot wound, swearing, I used Google translate again whoops

You woke up to the consistent sound of the train chugging along, and a soft early-morning light coating your features. Unfortunately, you also woke up to a cold breeze, mostly shirtless except for your bra and the bandage around your ribs. You felt the hard floor on your back, and the unyielding pain of a bullet lodged in your shoulder. You were also not at all well-rested, unsure of what time you had fallen asleep but knowing it couldn't have been more than a few hours.

You sat up and looked out to see the train entering civilization once again. You put on the remnants of your shirt to at least cover your bra and stretched your sore muscles, preparing to depart when the train stopped.

As you waited you tried to plan what to do, partially to prepare yourself but also partially to take your mind off of Peter. Wondering what happened to him, where he is, if he's alive. You knew he was very capable, _super_ capable, but you were scared. After discovering Mysterio had deceived you all, you didn't want to underestimate him.

You really needed to do something about your shoulder, providing constant pain you were gradually getting used to, but you really didn't want attention. If something about you got on the news, your captors could find out where you are and come for you.

After not too long, the train began slowing down and you got to your feet. Once it got to a safe, slow, speed, you jumped off and jogged towards buildings.

After passing a few places like cafes and small clothing stores, you saw a small drug store.  _ Perfect. _

A little bell dinged as you stepped through the door taking it in. Of course you didn't have money on you, but you decided you'd figure something out. Luckily, it seemed as though you were alone besides the cashier who looked mortified when you turned to look at him. He was young, probably about your age.

You couldn't blame the kid, you knew you looked like hell. Hair all over the place, bags under your eyes, bruised, ripped shirt, and very bloody. "Hello, I'm (Y/N)." You tried to smile at him as you asked, "Could you do me a quick favor?" ...But it probably made you look like you'd gone mad and that your favor would consist of you eating his bones.

A little noise came from the back of his throat but he stayed still and didn't speak.

"Can you tell me where we are?" At this he slowly nodded then spoke.

"N-Nederland."  _ Oh shit, the Netherlands. _ Your brows rose.

"Nederland?" He nodded again. He probably didn't speak much English so you tried to remember the little bit of Dutch you knew. "Uh, ik heb… medische hulp nodig."  Uh, I need medical help. "Um. Tweezers, ja? Like, uh, uh, pincet! Pincet for the um, bullet." You gestured to your shoulder as you finished speaking and he looked at the bloody mess and gulped. The boy nodded frantically, still wide-eyed, and looked around.

It looked like he was about to move, but he hesitated and looked back at you. "You not, uh, crimineel, no?"

You smiled a little, "No, just a victim." He seemed to be satisfied enough with that.

"I get medical... things. You wait, uh, toilet?" He spoke with a thick accent and pointed to the bathroom. You nodded at him before walking in to wait. After a minute he entered holding tweezers, a washcloth, and gauze.

You sighed, "Dank u zeer."  Thank you very much. "I can, uh, ik kan… het vanaf, um… hier nemen."  I can take it from here. He looked sicker than you at this point, like just seeing your blood had made him lose too much of his own. 

"No, I… help. I can help," he said despite looking like all he wanted was to bolt away. You gave him a small smile, grateful for his kindness.

"Okay," you read his name tag, "Berend, but… het is niet mooi."  ...it is not pretty. You warned but he took a deep breath and nodded.

You took off your shirt, much to the poor boy's surprise. But you ignore his deep blush and unwrap your shoulder then grab the tweezers he had set down. You washed them and your hands and then sat down on the lidded toilet with the tweezers ready in your good hand. You begin to slowly move them towards your shoulder but your hand starts shaking as it gets close. You take a deep breath but you're still shaking.

"Berend, kan je over… jezelf praten? Ik heb uh, a distraction, nodig. Ja?"  Berend, can you talk about yourself? I need uh, a distraction. Yeah?

"Uh, ja. I am sixteen… I like movies," he was probably running out of English but kept going. "I… I do not like um, wiskunde? In school. Oh! Maths. I do not like mathematics."

As he went on, keeping your mind off of the pain you knew you were about to experience, you brought your good hand with the tweezers to the shoulder and carefully entered the wound. You hissed at the pain but kept going, reminding yourself that the sooner you found and removed the bullet, the sooner all the pain would end. Soon enough, you felt the tweezers hit the bullet. Biting down on your tongue at the sensation, you managed to grip the bullet and carefully pull it out.

Immediately the wound started bleeding again and Berend hastily grabbed the gauze and put it against your shoulder as you dropped the bullet on the sink counter.

"Berend, is deer, uh, alcohol? En een um, lighter? For the wound." You vaguely remember things you'd seen about gunshot wounds and hoped you were doing everything correctly enough.

He looked nervous but said, "Yes alcohol. What is the 'lighter'?"

"Uh, maken fire? Brand! The lighter maken brand of for uh, cigarette… ja?"  Uh, to make fire? Fire! The lighter to make fire or for uh, cigarette… yeah? You cringed at your lack of Dutch vocabulary but he seemed to get what you meant.

"Ah, aansteker! Ja, ja."

You pressed the gauze against your bloody shoulder and he came back after a moment holding vodka and a small lighter. 

You took another deep breath and was about to pour a splash of vodka on your open injury but quickly took a swig of it first. Berend gave you a look but smirked a bit as he said, "'For the wound', huh?" repeating your words.

"Oh shh." You rolled your eyes and then before you could convince yourself otherwise tipped the bottle and let some hard alcohol fall into the hole in your shoulder. You hissed but quickly grabbed the lighter and moved the flame over your skin. It burned, of course, but after a few seconds you took it away and saw that the wound had stopped bleeding.

You sighed and closed your eyes for a few seconds but didn't allow yourself more of a break than that. "Okay, Berend. Dank u zeer. Ik heb nu geen geld, maar hoeveel ben ik je verschuldigd?"  Okay, Berend. Thank you very much. I don't have money now, but how much do I owe you?

"Oh, no, no. It's okay."

"Behagen, Berend, ik kan…" you struggled a little to remember the words but you got there, "me het veroorloven. Ik heb nu gewoon het geld niet bij me."  Please, Berend, I can… afford it. I just don't have the money with me now.

He reluctantly nodded and found the price of everything, at least most things, for you to write down to pay him when you could.

He let you use his phone and you called Peter's number but no one answered. Even though you expected it, hearing his voicemail still hurt almost as much as the bullet had. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. The bullet hurt like a bitch. Next you called your dad, who also didn't pick up, and Happy, who finally did.

"Who is this?"

"Hey Hap, it's me."

"Hey, kid, you alright? Your dad is in a meeting now but he mentioned that you'd missed his call last night and hadn't called him back."

"I'll explain later, have you heard from Peter?"

"No, why?"

You left out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, I'll check with the cops but I'm going to call you for a ride later, yeah? Once I find him, assuming he's nearby."

"Wait, what? Where are you?"

"I'll call you later. Thanks Happy."

After giving you a couple protein bars and water, Berend told you how to get to the nearest police precinct. You thanked him again and set out to see if the police knew what had happened to Peter or where he was. 


End file.
